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(No Model.) Y 4. 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. T. R. LOWERRE.

BOTTLE GORKING MAOHINE.

No; 365,753. Patented June 28, 1887.

INVENTOH ATTORNEY N. PETERS. Phowumogn ner, wuhm ton, 04 C.

(No Model.) Y 2 Sheets--Sheet 2. T. R. LOWERRE.

BOTTLE OORKING MACHINE.

No. 365.753. Patented June 28, 1887.

ATTORNEY N. PETERS Phowunw m hur. Washingiom 04,64

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS R. LOXVERRE, OF NEYV YORK, N. Y.

BOTTLE-CORKING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part. of Letters Patent No. 365,753, dated June28, 1887.

' Application filed May 22, 1886. Serial No. 209,987. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, THOMAS E. LOWERRE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Bottle-(Jerking Machines, of

which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to bottle-corking machines in general, but has for its object more especially to effect certain improvements in the construction of the bottle-eorking machine patented by me April 29, 1884, in which, in addition to the ordinary operation of pushing the cork into the neck of'the bottle, the cork, previous to insertion, is automatically slit and provided with a short piece of cord or wire inserted in the slit thus made, and which cord is allowed to remain therein for use afterward, as a means of extracting the cork from the bottle without the aid of a cork-screw.

The main. part of the present invention is that by which the cord is grasped automatirally, and held while being cut, and again released while the cork is being pushed into the bottleneck.

The invention also comprises improvements in the shears and their connecting-rodadj ustmcnt and the adjustment of the slitting-knife; also the construction whereby the cork is slamped or printed on the side automatically while being inserted; also the construction of the cork-holder, and various other details, as will be hereinafter fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of l the machine constructed according to my present invention. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the same, or as seen in the direction of arrow 1, Fig. 1, the slittingknife lever being removed, so as to expose to view the parts otherwise concealed by it. Fig. 3 is a detail face view of the cordclamping device, seen in the direction of arrow 2, Fig. 1, its cover being removed to expose the parts beyond the line w 00. Fig. 4 is a detail section on the line 3 y, seen in the direction of arrow 2, and sho\vi11gthe manner in which the cork-guide holder is held to enable it to slide in the frame and rise automatically after being depressed. Fig. 5 is a detail section of the cork-guide holder on the linez z of Fig. 4, and seen in the direction of arrow 3,

or in the same direction as it is represented in Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a detail vertical section through the cork-guide, taken in the center line at right angles to Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a detail view showing the construction of the cordshears.

A is the frame of the machine, preferably formed of casting. The frame A is provided with an upper and a lower head, a a, to which are fastened at opposite sides'vertical guide bars a between which is fitted to slide the block B, to which the plunger 1) is attached.

In my previous patent referred to the plu11- ger was detachable, having a shank entering a socket held by a set-screw. In the present case it will be seen that the upper end of the plunger goes through a vertical hole in the block B, towhich it is secured by nuts b above and below, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, which allows of not only removing it and replacing it by another. when required, but also of adj usting its length below the block B.

To the block 13, directly between the guides a is secured a downwardly-projecting rod, b (see foot of Figs. 1 and 2,) whose lower end should be connected to a treadle, so that by depressing the latter the plunger 1) will descend for the purpose of pushing the cork into the bottleneck. On removal of pressure from the treadle a spiralspring' surrounding the rod 11 and which may be interposed between the stationary portion of theframe A and the slide block 13, causes the plunger to rise, as described in my previous patent; or the spiral spring may be dispensed with and the plunger caused to rise simply by the weight of the spool-case or other weight attached to the slitting-knife lever.

G is the said lever or bar, which carries the cork-slitting knife and the cord-spool. The

lever O is pivoted to the head a directly above and in center line with the plunger, and has a short arm, 0, by which and a connectingrod, 0, it is connected to a lateral projection, b secured to the block B in such a way that the connecting-rod 0 will be as nearly parallel with the plunger as possible. Opposite to the arm 0 the lever G is bent downward, and its lower end provided with an arm, 0, projecting in the same direction as the arm 0.

D is the slitting-knife. This is pivoted at d, with the edge turned upward, as shown in Fig.1,andunderneath,butting against thebaek of theknife, isaset-screw, d, threaded th rough a lug, d", by which set-screw the elevation of the knife D maybe adjusted, so as to make a more or less deep slit through the cork, the knife in being adjusted turning on its pivot d. When the plunger descends, and by the downward pull "on the rod 0 and arm 0 caused thereby, the lever G is oscillated upon its ful-' to crum c", the inclined and sharp edge of the knife will pass through and across the lower end of the cork, and thus slit it. p

P is a ball of twine. (Preferred toa spool.) This I inclose in a box, 6, secured to the arm c", in which box the'twine is preferably laid loose, as indicated in Fig. 1. The cord 6' passes from the ball E through a tube, 0, (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1,) issuing at 0 through the end of the lever 0, directly behinda little lug, d projecting from the back of the knife D below its point, and thence through a hole in the said lug d By this construction of the knife it is evident that in passing through the cork a clear space is cut 2 for the cord, and the slit is kept open by the knife while the cord simultaneously enters, and the slit closes upon the cord by the clasticity of the cork when the knife has passed completely through. As the plunger keeps 3o descending the lever O is swung off enough to allow the knife D to pass clearly throughand beyond the shears. These consist of a stationaryjaw, F, a movable jaw, F, pivoted at f to the stationary jaw, both having cutters attached, and an adjustable connecting-rod, f, the latter being pivoted with one end to the rear end of thejaw F, and with its other end to a bar, G, secured to the back of the sliding block B, by the downward movement 0 of.which the shears are-operated. As the plunger still further descends the cord 6 is first clipped off by the said shears and then the cork is pressed through its holder and into the neck of the bottle, leaving the ends of the cord projecting above the bottle, so

that they may be tied in a loop for convenience in afterward extracting the cork. The stationary jaw F of the shears is fastened to or, preferably, formed in one piece with and at right angles to the bar G. The bars G G are held by set-screws in lugs to allow of sliding them,so as to adjust the distance of the shears from the center of the plunger, and thereby the length of the piece of cord to be cut off, 5 5 the opposite end of the said piece being held by an automatic clamping device, as will be presently described. It will be noticed that by not cuttingthe cord until the knife D has passed a distance beyond the shears a portion I of the cord always is left projecting from the knife, as in Fig. 1, and readily accessible to be grasped by the said clamping device.

As thus far described, the general features of the machine do not differ materially from those'of that described in my previouspatent,

the only specific difference so far being the manner of attaching the plunger '12, and the manner of adjusting the slitting-knife to give the desired depth of cut, as before stated.'

In addition to thcsaid'two features, I havev made several other improvements, which I will now'describe. The arm G, which carries the stationary jaw of the shears,is round, and has its bearings in holes through lugsf upon the rear surface of the guide-bars a of the frame A,and is held bya set-screw through one or both of the said lugs. The upper stationary cutter, J, is provided with a"bolt,j, rigidly secured to it at right angles, and the said bolt goes through a hole in the jaw F. The outer end of the bolt is threaded and provided with a nut, 7:, which, when tightened up against the part F, keeps the cutter J in the desired position. The cutting-edge is in the shape of an inverted V, as shown in Fig. 7, and the lower cutter, K, which is bolted to the lower and movable jaw, F, has an in 'clined cutting-edge, as also shown in Fig. 7, so that when theshears are closed the cord will always be forced into the angle of the cutting-edge of the upper cutter,thus securing a clean out every time, without failure from the cord chancing to slide oh the knife-edge.

By the aforesaid construction of the bar G andthe cutter J it is evident that the height ofthe latter can be adjustedto a nicety by simply swinging the arm F farther up or rod G, and is secured in a bearing in the said block by a set-screw, f, in a usual manner. The connecting-rod fis provided longitudinally with a slot, 9, by which it is entered upon the outer end of the rod G until it lodges against a shoulder, g", rigid upon the said rod. The outer surface, 9, of the connecting-rod f is serrated or corrugated on both sides of the slot 9, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and a perforated washer or plate, 9 serrated on its inner surfaces to correspond with the serrated surface 9, is also entered upon the outer end of the rod G to engage the serrations of the rod f and clamp it in position, by a washer, g and a pin, passing through the rod G and through a groove in the surface of the washer. This affords a secure fastening and a convenient mode of adjusting the distance between the pivotal points of the connecting-rod f, so as to give the movable jaw F of the shears a greater or less throw, as may be desired, to adapt the shears to keep open while the slittingknife passes has passed a sufficient distance beyond them to leave loose a required length of the end of the cord. The slight turning of the bar G necessary to operate the rod f is effected at vthem, and not'to cut the cord until the knife the outer side of the rod f, between the outer surface of the serrated plate and the inner surface of the washer 9 held on the rod by the pin 9. The inner side of the rod f moves against the collar 9 M is an arm or bracket formed upon or rigidly attached to one of the guide-bars a of the frame A.

In the arm or bracket M are formed the horizontal guide for the cord-clasping device and the vertical guide for the eork-holder; and through a lateral and slightlyelevated projection, m, on the said arm M, in the center line of the plunger Z), is bored a hole to receive a sleeve, N, which is held in place by a set-screw, m, and through which sleeve the plunger Z) tits and slides snugly. The lower end of the sleeve N is cut away at n, so as to facilitate the insertion of the cork into the holder when the plunger 6 is at its highest elevation, at which elevation its lowest end is about at or a little above the cut-away portion a.

The corkholder consists of two partsthe cork-guide holder and the cork'guide. The cork-guide holder is a ring, H, having a circular opening and an annular shoulder, h, in said opening to receive and retain the corkguide I, (shown in Fig. 6,) which latter has a circular flange with a rabbet, z, to fit the said hole and shoulder in the ring H. The ring H is provided with two uprights, h, connected at their upper ends, by which it is fitted to slide in a slot, L, in the frame-piece M. Centrally between the two uprights h isa round rod, h", surrounded by a spiral spring, h, which is interposed between the rigid horizontal part which connects the upper endsof the uprights h and a bridge across the slot L, and which bridge is rigid with the framepieee M, as shown in Fig. 4, so that the cork holder is supported by the said spring it upon the said bridge.

()n the side of the ring H nearest to the guide-bars a are perforated lugs h, to and between which is pivoted at 0 a lever, 0, which is curvechabout as shown in Fig. 2, and has a lug in which is secured'by a set-screw a type or stamp, P, which is inked by comingin contact with a pad on abracket, Q, secured to the frame. The object of the arm and type 0 P is to stamp the side of the cork with the date of patent or other mark, and its operation will be easily understood with reference to Fig. 2. \Nhen the cork-holder is depressed for the insertion of the cork, the part of the arm 0 which is nearest to the pivot 0 strikes a pin, 1), which is secured to the framepiece M in close proximity to the path of the lug hflthereby immediately swinging the arm 0 up, so that the type comes in the position shown in Fig. 2. As the holder is further depressed the type retains the same position and descends until its end surface comes in contact with the ink-pad on the bracket Q.- On withdrawal of the pressure the spring h instantly pulls up and the type entersahole, 2'', in the cork-guide I, and, striking the side of the cork q, leaves its impression thereon. The cork-guide has a downwardly-tapering central hole, as shown in Fig. 6, to receive the cork q, and is provided also in the path of the knife D with a slot, t, through which the knife passes while slitting the cork, as in my previouspatent.

.In order to always insure the proper central location of the bottle-neck to the plunger b, the lower end surface of the cork-guide I, adjoining its central opening, is provided. with a nipple, i", which, with a thin edge,'enters the extreme end opening in the bottleneck surrounding the cork. The drawings in Figs. 1 and 2 show the parts in the position when the plunger has forced the cork partly into the bottleneckand not yet completely out of the piece I. NV hen the cork is inserted in the holder, the plunger is at its highest position, as above stated; and the stationary sleeve N, after the cork has been inserted underneath the lower end of the said sleeve, serves as a stop against the upper end of the cork, to keep it in position against the pressure of the slittingk nife, which otherwise would have a tendency to push it up and out of the cork-holder.

The cord-clamping device consists of two jaws, R S, sliding in a way or recess in the stationary frame portion M. closed to clamp the cord by a bar, V, depending from the block B, and are opened to re lease the cord and to allow the cord-carrying slitting-knife to pass through the opening between them by the expansion of. a spring, U. The action will be easily understood with reference to Fig. 3. The slides R S lap each other, the outer slide, It, being cut at an incline, at

r, and the inner slide, S, having a triangular projection, 8, both slides being geared together by having racks 'r s, between which is pivoted apinion, T, meshing in both racks simultaneously and turning upon a stud stationary in the frame portion M. To the said frame portion is also secured a pin, 26, and a slot is made through the slide S, in order that its move- -ment will not be interfered with by the said A small projection or shoulder, s", is

)11]. iormed upon the slide S, and the aforesaid spring U is interposed between the said shoulder 8 and stationarypin t, thus tending normally to push the slide S outward or toward the right, and,by the intervention of the racks and the pinion '1, thereby cause the other slide R to move inward or toward the left to separate the clainping snrfaces from each other. These latter are formed by pieces of leather \V, which are each attached to downwardlyproject ing prongs or plates r r s s", by being wrapped around one of the said prongs and then fastened to the other prong by a tlanged screw, to, as plainly shown in Fig. 3. The bar V is The jaws are pivoted at its upper end to the slide-block B at u, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and a light spring, a, (see Fig. 2,) attached to the block, is pressing upon the bar V, always in the direction of arrow 5. The bar V, which in Fig. 3 is shown in the position ofjust beginning its downstroke, is provided with a metallic shoe, 1), which is cut at an incline at 1). block B begins to descend the lower end of the bar V enters between the incline r and the triangular stop s, upon the slides R S, respectively, thus wedging them apart and closing the clamping-surfaces WV \V upon the cord immediately as the knife Dhas passed through the opening between them. When the bar has descended so far that the upper end of the shoe 1) has got below the triangular projection 8, the spring U instantly opens the jaws of the slides R S. The cover Z, (see Fig. 1,) which confines the slides in the frame portion M, is cut away at an incline indicated by the dotted and dashed line -U U. (See Fig. 3.) During the continuance of the downward stroke the shoe 0 of the bar V passes a considerable distance below the slides R S, without producing any effect on them, the object being to allow them to remain open from the time the cord has been released until the corked bottle has been removed and all the parts allowed to resume their normal positionfin which the knife D, with the end of the cord projecting from it, has passed through the opening between the jaws W W.

To prevent the bar Vfrom being moved by the pressure of the spring a too far in the direction of arrow 5, it is arranged to strike against the cover Z (at c v) as a stop and guide during the path of the shoe 2) below the slide. On the upward motion the incline v of the sheet engages the corresponding incline of the triangular shoulder 8, thereby causing the bar V tobe deflected against the pressure of the spring in the direction opposite to that indicated by the arrow 5, and ascending on that side of the pin 8 opposite to that on which it descended until the lower end of the bar has passed completely above the pin 8, when the spring a will again move it in the direction of arrow 5 until it stops against the incline r of the slide R, which is the working-surface, between which and the pin 8 it operates to close the-"slide-jaws.

mal position on the withdrawal of pressurev from the treadle, the upper head, a, of the machine'frame is provided with a check or stop, w, (see Figs. 1 and 2,) and the lever G is pro- As the vided with a pin or projection, z, (see Fig.1,) in position to strike against the stop w when the lever has resumed its normal position.

Having thus described my invention, whatI claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is 1 I 1. In a bottle-corking machine, the combination,with a descending plunger and a knife carrying the cord and movable transversely to the motion of the said plunger, of automatic clampingjaws closing upon and holding the end of the said cord while the knife recedes from them, substantially as set forth.

2. In a bottle-corking machine, the combi-. nation, with a descending plunger andaknife carrying the cord and movable transversely to the motion of the said plunger, of the slides It S, provided with clamping-surfaces W Vv for the cord, and operating-surfaces r 8, meeting each other at an incline, and the vertically-movable bar V, provided with the shoe '0, having incline v, and normally acted upon, as by the spring a, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a bottle-corking machine, the combination, with a descending plunger and a knife carrying the cord and movable transversely to geared together by means of the studded pinion T, and one of the said slides, S, having a shoulder, .9 and a spring, U, interposed between the said shoulder and astationary part, it, for the purpose of automatically opening the clamping jaws,ras specified.

- 4. The combination of the knife D, having below its cuttingsurface a perforated lug, d", with the lever O, provided with the cord-guide issuing in the rear of the said lug d and the portion (1 with set-screw d, the said knife being pivoted to the said lever and bearing upon the said set screw for the purpose of adjusting the depth of the cut, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.-

5. In a bottle-corking machine having a descending plunger and a cord-carrying knife moving transversely to the said plunger, andshears connected to' receive movement from the sliding block and plunger, the combination of the bar G, carrying the stationary cut ter, the lever F, pivoted to the said bar G and carrying the movable cutter, the bar G, secured to the slide-block B and provided with the shoulder g and connecting-rod f, pivoted to the said lever F and having corrugated surfaces 9, a slot, 9, and the corrugated plate 9, and a fastening device, as g g, to tighten the said corrugated plate against the said connecting-rod and shoulder, substantfiially as and for the purpose hereinbefore set orth.

6. In combination with the slide-block B,

connecting-rod f, and lever F, carrying the lower cutter, K, the bar G, adjustable by sliding and turning in the stationary portion of the frame, the said bar G being provided with the arm F, and the inverted-V knife J adjustable on a boltor pin, j, upon the said arm, as and for the purpose set forth.

7. In combination with the descending plunger b, the cork-holder provided with uprights h and h, the stationary frame portion M, having way L to receive the said uprights and cross-bridge Z, and the spiral spring h arranged and operating substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. The combination of the frame portion M, having pin 1), the cork -holder arranged to slide in the said frame portion and provided with the lug h, the bent arm 0, pivoted to the said lug and provided at its free end with the type or stamp P, and the stationary pad 20 my invention I have signed my name, in pres- 25 ence of two witnesses, this 17th day of May, 1886.

THOMAS E. LOWERRE.

Wituesses:

' A. W. ALMovIsT, T. M. OROSSMAN. 

